Travel in Portugal, Day 4, Crato

The day was unsettled, with dramatic skies over Crato, an extraordinary small town in the Alentejo. The first stop was to see a colony of storks in an abandoned building on the edge of the town.

In the 13C vast areas of the Alentejo were granted to the Knights Hospitaller (originally the Order of St John of Jerusalem, later The Order of Malta) by King Sancho and in c.1340 Crato became the headquarters of the Order in Portugal, led by a Prior of Crato. The Order also built the nearby Monastery/Castle of Flor da Rosa in the 15C. In 1662 the town was sacked and burned by the Spanish and it never regained its importance.

The Prior's Balcony, the remains of the Prior's Palace, Crato — The Prior’s Balcony, the remains of the Prior’s Palace, Crato

The main square in the old town includes the Balcony of the Prior’s Palace (above), the Palace of the Arches (now the Municipal Museum), and the cross below with the Cross of Malta.

The Municipal Museum, Crato — The Palacio Sa Nogueira, The Municipality Offices, Crato

The Municipality offices, Crato, Pacos do Concelho — The Municipal Museum, Crato, Pacos do Concelho

The square of the Prior's Palace Balcony — The square of the Prior’s Palace Balcony

The Pelourinho or Pillory in the square of the Prior's Palace Balcony — The Pelourinho or Pillory in the square of the Prior’s Palace Balcony

The Castle must be Mediaeval too, but is closed and apart from this section and some walls it seems as though not much remains. The importance of the site, above the plains, is obvious from the views.